The chronology of Star Wars

[dennisknapp]

I was watching the movies and was think about the chronology of each episode.

Can anyone lay out the time periods between each episode? I know that between Episode I and II there was ten years, but how about II and III and III and IV and IV and V and V and VI?

How old was Obi Won at the end of III and the beginning of IV?

Any takers?

Peace

 

[Magicsilence]

well at the end of three, luke is a baby, and at four, hes around 20, though obi wan looks likes hes aged 40 years, 4-6 happen pretty much in sequence, no time gap between them.

 

[Shiann]

dennisknapp:

I was watching the movies and was think about the chronology of each episode.

Can anyone lay out the time periods between each episode? I know that between Episode I and II there was ten years, but how about II and III and III and IV and IV and V and V and VI?

How old was Obi Won at the end of III and the beginning of IV?

Any takers?

Peace

All time is measured from the time that the death star was destroyed by Luke the first time in A New Hope. (Before Battle of Yavin or After Battle of Yavin- BBY or ABY)

57 BBY Obi Wan Born

46 BBY Amidala Born

41 BBY Anikin Born

32 BBY Episode I Phantom Menace

29 BBY Han Solo born… he was a bit older than Leia!

22 BBY Episode II Attack of the Clones

20 BBY Episode III Revenge of the Sith (There is some who say the kids were born in 18 BBY, but because the stories of Amidala’s death are irregular, this is unsure. I would go with GLucas’ time though, and that is 20 BBY)

0 Episode IV A New Hope

3 ABY Episode V Empire Strikes Back

4 ABY Episode VI Return of the Jedi

---

So Obi Wan was 37 at the end of Ep III, and 57 when he “died” in A New Hope.

Luke & Leia were 20 in A New Hope and 24 in Return of the Jedi

Han Solo was 29 in A New Hope and 33 in Return of the Jedi

Darth Vadar was 41 in A New Hope (when he killed Obi Wan) and 45 when he “died” in Return of the Jedi.

Amidala was 26 when she gave birth to the twins, and was 24 when she married a 19 year old Anikin.

(Hope my math is right…)

 

[qmvsimp]

Shiann:

All time is measured from the time that the death star was destroyed by Luke the first time in A New Hope. (Before Battle of Yavin or After Battle of Yavin- BBY or ABY)

57 BBY Obi Wan Born

46 BBY Amidala Born

41 BBY Anikin Born

32 BBY Episode I Phantom Menace

29 BBY Han Solo born… he was a bit older than Leia!

22 BBY Episode II Attack of the Clones

20 BBY Episode III Revenge of the Sith (There is some who say the kids were born in 18 BBY, but because the stories of Amidala’s death are irregular, this is unsure. I would go with GLucas’ time though, and that is 20 BBY)

0 Episode IV A New Hope

3 ABY Episode V Empire Strikes Back

4 ABY Episode VI Return of the Jedi

---

So Obi Wan was 37 at the end of Ep III, and 57 when he “died” in A New Hope.

Luke & Leia were 20 in A New Hope and 24 in Return of the Jedi

Han Solo was 29 in A New Hope and 33 in Return of the Jedi

Darth Vadar was 41 in A New Hope (when he killed Obi Wan) and 45 when he “died” in Return of the Jedi.

Amidala was 26 when she gave birth to the twins, and was 24 when she married a 19 year old Anikin.

(Hope my math is right…)

Excellent info! I now understand the ages and timelines perfectly! Thank you very much!

 

[MikeB]

Shiann:

Amidala was 26 when she gave birth to the twins, and was 24 when she married a 19 year old Anikin.

I think that your math is wrong on the ages here. In Ep 1 there was a greater age difference that 6 years.

 

[Shiann]

MikeB.:

I think that your math is wrong on the ages here. In Ep 1 there was a greater age difference that 6 years.

Queen Padme Amidala was 14 or 15, young Anakin Skywalker was 9.

That would make about a 6 year difference in Phantom Menace.

 

[dennisknapp]

Shiann:

Queen Padme Amidala was 14 or 15, young Anakin Skywalker was 9.

That would make about a 6 year difference in Phantom Menace.

Thanks for the detail! Where did you get the info?

It seems to me that Anakin seems much older in Epis. III than II. His powers have doubled and he is more of a man than a whinny kid.

Luke in Epis. VI is way more powerful then in Epis. V and this has to take time, right?

Plus, Obi Wan look way older than 57 in Epis. IV… If he is 57 in IV, the Force has not been good to him. I mean, Count Dooku is in way better shape in both II and III and seems older than Kenobi at his “death” in IV.

Peace

 

[Shiann]

dennisknapp:

Thanks for the detail! Where did you get the info?

Gleaned it from many hours ( ) looking through various sites:

starwars.com/

theforce.net/timetales/

These are two of the best. I like them both.

It seems to me that Anakin seems much older in Epis. III than II. His powers have doubled and he is more of a man than a whinny kid.

Well, I guess that Anakin being born the “chosen one” might have had something to do with that. He began training much later than normal Jedi padawans, and had his powers fine tuned within a period of 10 or 12 years. Obi Wan himself, supposedly began training in infancy, and did not being to train with Qui Gon until he was 12 or so, and did not become a Jedi and start training Anakin until he was 25.

Anakin would have been 19 in Episode II, and then 21 in Episode III. Sounds about right. (Thinking of the young men I know when they entered college vs when they graduate college 4 years later…)

Luke in Epis. VI is way more powerful then in Epis. V and this has to take time, right?

Yep, he came to his powers in even less time than Anakin. He was full fledged Jedi in about 4 years! With help from Yoda of course.

Plus, Obi Wan look way older than 57 in Epis. IV… If he is 57 in IV, the Force has not been good to him. I mean, Count Dooku is in way better shape in both II and III and seems older than Kenobi at his “death” in IV.

Alec Guinness was 63 when he played a 57 year old Obi Wan. A character who had lived in a dry desert planet for nigh on 20 years. I would think it was the desert air that wasn’t good to him.

Count Dooku was born 102 BBY and was a Jedi until 32 BBY when he turned to the dark side. He would have been 70. Then he was 82 in Episode III when Anakin off’d him.

I don’t think Obi Wan was a match for Count Dooku. In all their fights, he ends up passing out. But Obi Wan did overcome Grievous AND Anakin so I don’t know if I’d say Dooku was in better shape. The key to both of those battles for me was endurance. Obi Wan just stuck with it until the end.

:: Just my quick thoughts, not backed up by anything but impressions

 

[qmvsimp]

dennisknapp:

Thanks for the detail! Where did you get the info?

It seems to me that Anakin seems much older in Epis. III than II. His powers have doubled and he is more of a man than a whinny kid.

Luke in Epis. VI is way more powerful then in Epis. V and this has to take time, right?

Plus, Obi Wan look way older than 57 in Epis. IV… If he is 57 in IV, the Force has not been good to him. I mean, Count Dooku is in way better shape in both II and III and seems older than Kenobi at his “death” in IV.

Peace

Remember this is fiction and the stories are being forced to fit into the movies. Of course there are things that don’t fit perfectly. That’s to be expected.

 

[Dredgemate]

The only thing that stuck out to me that seemed “wrong” was when luke and leia had the converstation about knowing their mothers, Leia said she had a slight memory of her mother being very beautiful, but very sad. But, as we see in Ep. III Amidala dies in child birth…

All in all, a minor, minor, flaw.

 

[masterjedi747]

dennisknapp:

Can anyone lay out the time periods between each episode? I know that between Episode I and II there was ten years, but how about II and III and III and IV and IV and V and V and VI?

Star Wars Film Timeline
32 BBY - Episode I: The Phantom Menace
22 BBY - Episode II: Attack of the Clones
19 BBY - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
00 BBY - Episode IV: A New Hope
03 ABY - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
04 ABY - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

It’s also interesting to note that the saga can be divided into three individual “stages”:

1. Episode I stands on it’s own events. Then we skip 10 years.
2. Episodes II and III are about 3 years apart. Then we skip 19 years.
3. Episodes IV, V, and VI all happen within about 4 years of each other.

dennisknapp:

It seems to me that Anakin seems much older in Epis. III than II. His powers have doubled and he is more of a man than a whinny kid.

Wars can do that to some people…they’re forced to grow up faster, be more mature.

dennisknapp:

Luke in Epis. VI is way more powerful then in Epis. V and this has to take time, right?

He has had about a year (maybe up to a year and a half) to be practicing all the things he learned from Yoda. Plus he builds his lightsaber back on Tatooine, in Obi-Wan’s hut.

dennisknapp:

Obi Wan look way older than 57 in Epis. IV… If he is 57 in IV, the Force has not been good to him.

Well, he’s a nearly 60 year old man who’s been living out in the scorching desert for a third of his life…and you don’t get much physical exercise and lightsaber practice living as a hermit.

Dredgemate:

The only thing that stuck out to me that seemed “wrong” was when luke and leia had the converstation about knowing their mothers, Leia said she had a slight memory of her mother being very beautiful, but very sad. But, as we see in Ep. III Amidala dies in child birth…

LUKE: What do you remember?
LEIA: Just…images, really. Feelings.
LUKE: Tell me.
LEIA: She was very beautiful. Kind, but…sad.
It still works out just fine. Padme was very beautiful and very sad when she died. Leia remembers Padme because of the Force; they share a much closer bond together as mother and daughter. Her mother’s feelings were simply impressed upon her at a very young age. (It’s been known to happen in real life too. The unborn children of mothers who were pregnant during the 9-11 attacks were affected by the incredible amount of stress that their mothers went through, etc…) It should also be noted that at the end of Episode III when the twins are born, Leia’s eyes are open, while Luke’s eyes stay closed. And Leia, like Luke, knew that she was adopted. It’s even possible that Bail Organa even showed her some pictures of Padme while she was growing up on Alderaan.

 

[Joseph_Bilodeau]

MikeB.:

I think that your math is wrong on the ages here. In Ep 1 there was a greater age difference that 6 years.

When in doubt, consult the most authoritative expert, in this case, Weird Al Yankovic:

The Saga Begins (sung to the tune of American Pie)

A long, long time ago
In a galaxy far away
Naboo was under an attack
And I thought me and Qui-Gon Jinn
Could talk the federation in
To maybe cutting them a little slack
But their response, it didn’t thrill us
They locked the doors and tried to kill us
We escaped from that gas
Then met Jar Jar and Boss Nass
We took a bongo from the scene
And we went to Theed to see the Queen
We all wound up on Tatooine
That’s where… we found… this boy

Oh,
My my this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he’s just a small fry
He left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin’ “Soon I’m gonna be a Jedi, Soon I’m gonna be a Jedi”

Did you know this junkyard slave
Isn’t even old enough to shave
But he can use the Force, they say

Ahh, do you see him hittin’ on the queen
Though he’s just nine and she’s fourteen
Yeah, he’s probably gonna marry her someday

Well, I know he built C-3PO
And I’ve heard how fast his pod can go
And we were broke, it’s true
So we made a wager or two
He was a prepubescent flyin’ ace
And the minute Jabba started off that race
Well, I knew who would win first place
Oh yes, it was our boy

We started singin’ …
My my this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he’s just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin’ “Soon I’m gonna be a Jedi, Soon I’m gonna be a Jedi”

Now we finally got to Coruscant
The Jedi Council we knew would want
To see how good the boy could be
So we took him there and we told the tale
How his midi-chlorians were off the scale
And he might fulfill that ancient prophecy
Oh, the Council was impressed, of course
Could he bring balance, to the Force?
They interviewed the kid
All training they forbid
'Cause Yoda sensed in him much fear
And Qui-Gon said “Now listen here”
“Just stick it in your pointy ear”
“I still will teach this boy”

He was singin’ …
My my this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he’s just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin’ “Soon I’m gonna be a Jedi, Soon I’m gonna be a Jedi”

We caught a ride back to Naboo
‘Cause Queen Amidala wanted to
I frankly would’ve liked to stay
We all fought in that epic war
And it wasn’t long at all before
Little Hotshot flew his plane and saved the day
And in the end some Gunguns died
Some ships blew up and some pilots fried
A lot of folks were croakin’
The battle droids were broken
And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul, now he’s toast
I’m still here and he’s a ghost
I guess I’ll train this boy

And I was singin’ …
My my this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he’s just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin’ “Soon I’m gonna be a Jedi, Soon I’m gonna be a Jedi”

We were singin’ …
My my this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he’s just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin’ “Soon I’m gonna be a Jedi”

So the difference is 5 years, possibly approaching 6, depending on where their birthdays fall relative to each other on the calendar.